“Remember,” Mrs. Allen told all the boys and girls in the seventh grade, “one week from today we are going to have our final test in American history. The questions will cover everything we’ve been studying during the last three months, so you’ll have to study hard.”
All the seventh graders groaned out loud as they gathered up their books and papers and got ready to go home.
Jim climbed on the school bus and took a seat. He was thinking about the history test and how much studying he was going to have to do if he wanted to get a good grade. He was thinking so hard about the test he hardly noticed when Eric sat down beside him. “What’s the matter?” Eric asked looking at Jim. “Are you sick or something?”
“No. I’m thinking about that history test next week. We’re going to have to spend a lot of time studying.”
“Not me,” Eric said. “I’m going down to the skateboard park and practice every night this week. I don’t have to study for that old test.”
“Why not?” Jim wanted to know.
“Because I already know all the questions that will be on it,” Eric told him. “Several of the kids in class have them. You just have to be sure you know the answers to those questions, and you’ll do fine. You don’t have to spend all week studying.”
“How do you know the questions?” Jim asked.
Eric looked around carefully and lowered his voice. “George found a copy of the test in the wastebasket last week when he was helping the janitor take out the trash. I guess Mrs. Allen had forgotten to shred it before she threw it away. George managed to slip it out of the wastebasket and put it under his coat without the janitor seeing him. He’s selling copies for five dollars. He’ll sell you one if you want it. He’s keeping it a secret from most of the kids in the class since he doesn’t want word to get out. But he would sell you a copy, I’m sure. It’s good money for George, and several of us will get a good grade without having to study.”
Jim didn’t know what to think. He knew what George was doing was wrong. And he knew that to buy a copy of the test would be cheating. But he also knew that he was going to have to spend several hours every night studying to have any chance at all of doing well on the test. And he knew that the test counted a lot toward his final grade in the class. He was tempted to give George five dollars and not have to study.
For a while, a battle was going on in his mind. What should he do? The bus was almost at his stop. Eric was looking at him; he had to make a decision. Should he cheat or should he spend all week studying? The bus was slowing down, and the driver was turning on the flashing red lights. Eric waited for Jim’s answer.
“No, Eric,” Jim said as the bus stopped. “I don’t want a copy of the test. That wouldn’t be fair. I want to take the test honestly and do well because I’ve studied—not because I’ve cheated.”
Eric shrugged. “Suit yourself,” he said.
All that week, Jim studied hard, reviewing what he had learned in class over the last few months. He went over all his notes and tried his best to remember the important points that Mrs. Allen had stressed in class. It seemed like the longest week in his life.
Finally, the morning came. Test day! Jim wasn’t sure how well he would do on the test, but he knew he had studied hard and was as prepared as he would ever be. And he knew that no matter what happened, he had done the right thing. His conscience was clear.
As Jim walked into the classroom, Eric looked at him carefully. So did George. So did three or four other students. They all knew that Jim knew they had the questions already. “You should have bought the questions,” Eric whispered. “You didn’t have to spend all that time studying, you know!”
Jim didn’t say anything. He looked around. Mrs. Allen wasn’t in the room yet. The kids in the classroom were talking and putting their things away. It was time for class to begin, and still Mrs. Allen hadn’t arrived. “Where is Mrs. Allen?” everyone began asking. “Why isn’t she here? What’s wrong?”
Just then the door opened, and the school principal entered the room, followed by Mrs. Allen. The principal wasn’t smiling; neither was Mrs. Allen. Instead, they had serious expressions on their faces. The students quit talking and turned their attention to the front of the classroom. When everything was quiet, the principal said, “Yesterday, your teacher learned that some students had managed to get a copy of today’s history test. We aren’t sure yet just how this happened, but we’re investigating. Meanwhile, Mrs. Allen has stayed up all night preparing a new test with all new questions. It wasn’t easy for her to do so, but she’s ready now.”
The principal turned and walked out the door, and Mrs. Allen began passing out the test—a completely new test with all new questions.
Some of the students looked puzzled. A few of the students looked sick. But there was joy in Jim’s heart. He was happy that he had made the decision to be honest.
Jim picked up the test and began to read the questions. He had studied hard, and he knew he was going to do well.
Storytime, Character-building Stories for Children, ©2008, 74–77.
Young people, each one of us is taking a test—our final test. If we don’t pass this test there will be no second chance to take it again. Are we studying as if our eternal life depended on it? or are we listening to the devil who tells us we don’t need to study and prepare—we can cheat through this life and still win the prize of heaven?
“You are now in probationary [final test] time, and a second probation will not come to any of you. This is the only opportunity you will have of standing the test and proving of God.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 245.